Ad Astra Per Aspera 6

I slowly look around the bright green and red room as my vision slowly starts returning to normal. I knew immediately I wasn’t on the SUNRISE. Another dream, I guess. I sit up and take in my surroundings. I was in a chamber of sorts. The room was filled with shades of flickering red and green. I recall the events up to where I remember and came to one of two conclusions. Conclusion 1: I was knocked unconscious and was currently in the SUNRISE’s medical bay. Or Conclusion 2: I really died this time.

“Your pretty smart. You have died.” A dark voice chuckles.

I turn around and see a muscular black humanoid with two long horns on the front of his head with multiple tiny horns circle around. Like a crown of some sort. I had always thought I had felt it before, but this was completely different. This was TRUE fear. I subconsciously step back, and it smiles.

“You are indeed smart. I definitely found the best subject.” The monster says rubbing his chin. “Tell me human. Do you know where you are?”

I look around but nothing comes to mind except my previous dream. If I had to guess if the last place, I went to was on the path to Heaven then this must be the path to Hell, correct?”

“Ahaha... I see.” He laughs clapping. “Indeed. You are in Hell. Do you know why?”

“Because I was supposed to die right?” I ask becoming confused at this Déjà vu.

“Yes. You were supposed to die and have avoided death five times. God has already shown an interest in you, correct?” He asks looking down at me.

“Yes.”

“As expected. I bet he gave you the worst abilities imaginable as well.”

“I don’t know. He gave me perfect luck, intuition, and intelligence.” I respond and he burst into laughter.

“AHAHAHAHA. As expected of that cheapskate. Listen here boy. I can make you a true survivor. All you have to do is just grant me all of your kills.”

“What do you mean? You can make me a true survivor.”

“It’s how it sounds boy. Before every kill or even if you feel like your near death just call to me like so “Satan, ruler of all below. In your name I take this life. Grant me your strength.” and I will grant you the appropriate strength. Not some trivial skill like you’ve been given. What do you say? I’ve been pretty helpful so far yes?”

He had a point; I couldn’t deny that he had done more to help me this time around. I just chose to hesitate last time. “What about my deaths?”

“That is something beyond my power. Death is a separate entity from me and God. You will still feel every ounce of pain up until your body finally gives out. When you come to, if you are in what you people call the “Infirmary” or “Medical” you will feel slight pain which is your basic human nature. If you awaken anywhere else with no aid you will recall every bit of pain.” He explains.

So not even God or Satan controlled Death huh? Oh well, we’ll see how long this dream lasts. Next monster encounter I will entertain my subconscious and use that phrase.

“Sure. I’ll use your abilities from time to time if I feel like I will fail.” I respond after a pause.

“Very good. I shall also continue providing intel for you and your little friends as a show of good will.” He adds in.

“And all I have to do is use your name and give you my kills?”

“Yes. If you so choose not to that is fine as well. I will still continue giving you warning and intelligence. Trust is as you humans say: “A two-way street.”.” He says leaning back in his throne.

“It doesn’t seem like that bad of a trade to me.” I finally say after thinking it over. There was no harm in playing along. Due time would tell its authenticity.

“Any questions before I return you boy? Your friends are about to bury you.”

“What if I “die” and my body is incinerated or destroyed beyond repair?” I ask after thinking it over. If all of this was true and not a dream then I had plenty of chances to learn this planet by trial and error.

“It will take time but if you choose to come back even after that you shall return wherever your body last was... To an extent. Your body must be able to survive those conditions. Like Space or an Ocean for example. No matter how many times you try. You will stay dead due to your body needing oxygen.” He explains. His fingers interlocked as he watches me.

“That makes sense. What happens if I die using mostly your powers instead of Gods?”

“Times up boy. It’s almost your funeral.” He say quickly and makes a flicking motion with his fingers sending me flying backwards. Soon it turns from red and green to a light orange. Then I’m freefalling. I catch the quick glimpses of even denser forests and more baron land from some directions I seen two Huntsmen. I couldn’t grasp the exact direction though. Then I’m facing up watching the sky get further. There’s a sudden jolt and everything goes dark.

“HUUUUUUUUUUUH!” I deeply inhale trying to catch my new found breath. I look around and see the shocked faces of the SUNRISE’s crew and the modified casket they had for me. Apparently it really was my funeral. “Y’all look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I joke and a couple of the crew pass out from shock, some start whispering amongst themselves, some started cheering. However, only one threw me completely for a loop and that was Commander Baja. The soft crunching of a pair of boots on sand to my right is what drew my attention.

[SLAP]

The enter area goes silent as the fuming Commander slaps me. “What have you done? Do you know how many medical resources were wasted on you? How much time and energy was spent on trying to revive you? It’s been two days since you were announced dead. What did you do?”

I honestly didn’t know what confused me more. The slap or the bombardment of questions. “I’m sorry??” I apologetically ask shrinking back a little in case she tried to hit me again.

“You’re sorry? That’s it?” She asks angrily.

“N...”

“Come with me. We’re going to have a little chat.” She says... well, more like she demanded. I pick myself up and start to follow her. I immediately regret that decision as I stand and the most excruciating pain shoots through my body. I stumble slightly but somehow managed to maintain my footing. That’s when the soft crunching of my own footstep’s in the sand reach my ears and I look down and find I’m back in my combat armor from the downed Huntsmen. For the most part it was still stained in a blueish purple mixture that came from all of the monsters I killed that first day.

There was patches of clean spots from where the busted parts were part and repaired as much as possible, but a good bit of the blood stains remained. I was kind of thankful for that honestly. I wanted to maintain as much of my enemies of blood as possible until my armor finally gave out on me, and I needed a complete new set. Even though most likely I would just repeat the past and keep it as blood stained as possible to assert my dominance. Even I knew a lot of people already must have disliked me for me achievements so far since at least a quarter of the crew were Combat Personnel and I was just a Hull Technician.

My funeral was held relatively close to the ship. Like maybe five meters at most. The light clunking of our heavy boots filled the currently silent gunship as we get to the tiny space I assumed to be her room. She places her hand on a scanner and the doorframe flashes green and slides open with a soft hiss. She steps inside and with her index and middle finger motions for me to step inside as well. I sigh and step inside. She tells me to take a seat and as soon as I sit she sits as well right across from me and elegantly crosses her left leg over her right. I already had a decent idea of what our conversation was going to be about.

She was going to ask what happened. I’d tell her what happened, but my story is outrageous, and she doesn’t believe me. I’ll tell some made up, fresh from my imagination story that she wants to hear. Sure enough, that’s the logical answer to this phenomenon. It’s basically like every Sci-Fi movie out there except this was reality and I’m apparently playing the Sci-Fi movie main character.

“Hull Technician I. I want you to explain to me exactly what happened since arrived here. You will answer truthfully you understand?” She demands crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Just like expected that was the question she immediately wanted an answer to. I sigh again and go into what happened starting from the TEMPEST coming under attack all the way up until now.

“...Then I came falling back to the planet and came to in the middle of my funeral.” I finish and just as expected she scoffs at my answer and gets tells me to stop lying and tell her what really happened because my story had “To many holes in it” and that it was probably among the dumbest tales she has ever heard. However, I was not in the mood for the games she wanted to play so I abruptly stand in the middle of her rant.

“... Hull Technician I. Where do you think you’re going?” She demands as I start to walk out.

“There is no think. I am going somewhere and its not going to be me adjusting in here. I told you what happened. You can scoff it off all you want. That is your decision however, I will not play your game of I only want to hear the truth and that truth is what you want me to say, understand?” I tell her opening the door.

“That is not how this works. You are my subordi...”

“With no due respect Commander. I don’t work for you. Admiral Visa was my Commander and even then I did not work for him. I work for the United Nations Space Fleet. My job is the repairs and maintenance of all of our Space Fleet’s ships whether it be Infinity Class Battlecruisers or the one-man Wasp Class fighter ships. Anything outside of that does not pertain to me. Do you understand ma’am?” I ask back as she sits there staring back at me appalled. “Very well. Excuse me then. Unlike you at the moment I actually have a job to do.”

She didn’t even try and say anything to rebuttal. Probably because no one ever talked to her that way before and she was currently in shock or some shit. And with that the door hisses open again, and I walk out of her office leaving her to think over my words. Not that it mattered. Unless we came into contact with another fleet or something there wasn’t anything she could do about it. There was no witnesses, no recordings, nothing. Just her word saying I was in the wrong.

“Huuuuuuff.” Commander Baja sighs disappointedly to herself as the door hissed closed. “Why did I say that?” She asks herself rubbing the bridge of her nose. The conversation didn’t go at all like how she envisioned. She intended to apologize for that humiliating slap and to hear him out. Not piss him off and push him away. Definitely not that.

She sighs again and slowly gets up. She walks over to her mirror and pulls it open. She grabs the small bottle of perfume closes the mirror and looks it over. She definitely thought of herself as a decently beautiful woman. Not the most beautiful of course, but definitely beautiful enough to be seen as woman. “Maybe it’s the uniform.” She mutters titling her head side to side looking at her reflection in the mirror.

“Very well. Starting tomorrow this will be the uniform from here on out until we reconnect with another unit.” She says putting the bottle down and while unbuttoning her blouse walks to her shower.